Every King Needs an Heir
by Crazychicke
Summary: AU based on 4x20. Klaus finds out Hayley's pregnant with his child, so the Originals and NOLA witches devise a plan to get Klaus into Marcel's gang. Twenty years later, his son Oliver is determined to defeat Marcel and prove himself to his father. (Moved across from TVD). Klayley/Solijah/OC. Three-shot.
1. Every King Needs an Heir

**Disclaimer: TVD/The Originals is not owned by me. A/N: For the anon who asked me for some more Klayley fics! Based on 4x20: Originals' Pilot.**

**Every King Needs an Heir**

Hayley shifted through the shadows with her hand pressed on the miracle child living inside her. Her eyes downcast, as Elijah had instructed. The witch Jane-Anne had done this to her and paid the price. Now what? She and Klaus would play happy families? She wasn't stupid. This wasn't what either of them had expected, nor were they ready to be parents. Knowing Klaus, his reaction wouldn't be pleasant. Yes they'd had sex and it'd been better than she had expected but the thought of procreating hadn't entered their heads. This changed everything.

Klaus was not as accommodating as Elijah. The thought of raising her child as his own repulsed him, she could see it in his twisted features and furious gaze. He condemned her and the baby to death. Sophie brought her case to Klaus, protesting against Marcel's evil reign. They wanted him to take back New Orleans, they needed him to fix the balance, and with that came their union, and his heir.

_Werewolves._ That's what was needed to go up against Marcel and his coven of vampires. The witches were repressed and those who did magic in the King's town were made examples. Elijah had thought it possible that the baby would change Klaus, that he would do the right thing, but no, his redemption had been lost. He was stubborn; he was evil; and he would never let her stand by his side, not when in his mind, that spot was already taken by Caroline Forbes.

She wished she would shrivel up the way he glared at her. It was supposed to have been a one night stand, not something that would be bigger than Ben Hur!

"Brother, listen!" Elijah fumed, stopping him from bolting out of the room.

She clutched her stomach, willing him to do as Elijah said. He needed to know she wasn't lying. There was a baby inside her, their baby.

"Please, Klaus?" she whispered.

"It was the only way!" Sophie said. "We needed you." Klaus' eyebrows recede into his hair in surprise. They all hear it. Two beating hearts.

Elijah's voice reassures him. "The baby is yours, Niklaus and you must take responsibility for it. This may be the only way you can defeat Marcel. I say this now, I will be by your side, as will Hayley. Your protection is of the utmost importance. If this secret is found out by Marcel or his followers then I will guarantee they will kill it. I believe the only way to truly get back New Orleans is to become part of Marcel's gang, find out all you can and when the time is right, then we'll reveal him."

"How long must I be kept hidden?" Hayley whispered, avoiding Klaus' gaze. She'd do anything to protect her baby, and she was grateful that Klaus hadn't killed her. She supposed Elijah wouldn't have let him. "Nine months? Three years? Twenty?"

"As long as it takes," Sophie whispers, and they all watch the candles surrounding them flicker.

_~Twenty years later~_

The garbage bins scatter. Ever since he was a kid he'd trained early mornings and nights, hidden from Marcel, the current King. He looks up to the crescent moon, adrenaline washes over him as his mother crouches nearby. His eyes turn amber as the vampires congregate on the other side of the building. The punitive expeditions were still a thrill for the vampiric citizens of New Orleans.

Hayley's shaggy black wolf fur camouflages her as they pause in the alley. Her glowing blue eyes pulsate in the shadows. Oliver can hear every lick, intake of air and pant, mindful the night's events were not a drill. Marcel stood on the other side using his favourite weapon: wolfs bane. He was always one step ahead of the witches. Klaus had re-claimed his trust finally. After twenty years of proving himself loyal to Marcel, this was to be his initiation into his inner circle.

Oliver wishes he could wolf-out like his mum, but he hadn't turned twenty-one, not to mention triggered his werewolf gene. He may be agile, fast and determined now but he would be no match for a vampire, until he'd killed one. Hayley's ears twitch. The vampires are moving towards them, singing in loud, humoress voices. Oliver watches Sophie Devereaux pass in chains. Klaus and Marcel are laughing, and he's sickened. Somewhere in the darkness he hears Elijah's quiet sobs.

"Sophie Devereaux, how do you plead?" Klaus roared over the chanting nightwalkers.

"Not guilty," she said. There was a cry of boos and Hayley pulled Oliver back by his tank-top.

"I begin to differ, breaking and entering into Marcel's personal quarters is punishable by death." He gets the nod from Marcel and Oliver can't look away. "You will die the same way as your sister."

"No!" Sophie screams, fighting to escape. Klaus takes the wolfs bane from Marcel's hand.

He had always liked Sophie, much like his Uncle Elijah, although he felt perhaps Elijah liked her even more. He felt his vein pulsating under the adrenaline gushing through his veins and he wanted badly to tear their throats out but his senses and abilities weren't as good as his mum's nor were they any match for Marcel who bragged he was more powerful that his Dad, an Original.

Klaus hated not knowing how.

His parents were friends, they respected each other but he never asked why they weren't like Sophie and Elijah. They had an agreement or so he gathered because Hayley raised him while Klaus worked undercover. He fell back when exuberant spectators crashed into the garbage bins in front of them and his attention returned to Sophie.

"For every witch you have murdered a flame burns and magic will continue to bloom. You can never eradicate us. Your era is almost over, Marcel, and I look forward to it," she spat.

Marcel raises Sophie's chin with a growl. "Pity you won't be here to see it, goodbye Devereaux. I look forward to watching you suffer." Klaus brings the smoking wolfsbane between his fingers threateningly and Oliver dreads what's coming next. Klaus strangles her with it. The smell is intoxicating and the vampires chant with joy but Oliver's eyes are wet.

_It's done._

_She's dead._

_Run._

Oliver hears his parent's voices in his head. Was what Sophie said true? Could the witches come back? He didn't wait to see. He climbed back up the drain-pipe, meeting Elijah on the roof.

"I'm sorry." Was all he could manage, though it didn't seem like much.

Elijah pocketed his hands into his suit, watching Klaus and Marcel bond over his girlfriend's spilt blood while the other nightwalkers did what they did after every expedition: they partied, they looted, they murdered, because in New Orleans there were only Marcel's rules to follow.

"Thank you, now go home and protect your mother," he said.

Oliver ran. He was fast now, faster than ever. He was almost home when he heard the unmistakeable whine of a wolf being bitten by a vampire. His heart almost stopped, and his thoughts collided with his mum's.

_No..._

_Leave me._

_NO._

Oliver jumped across the rooves, the feeling excites him, only this time he's in a rage. He escapes Elijah's grip and launches himself at the vampire below him who had attacked Hayley. He was one of Marcel's inner circle and his name was Philip. He once whipped a kid with cat-o-nine tails because he didn't give him his cell and lunch money. He slammed into him.

"One bite from a wolf is deadly, did your forget that?" He threw Philip off his mother, pushed him face first into the ground and held his arm out for his mum to bite. "Tell your master his time has come." Philip squirmed his way out of Oliver's grasp but Hayley bit down on his elbow and ripped what she could from the bone. His blood drenched her fur and she knew the smell would attract all the vampires in the district. She turned to Elijah for help.

_Elijah, get him out of here._

_Mum, no._

_NOW._

Philip cursed her, making Oliver wish he'd killed him. Elijah grabbed Oliver's neck and they were running. The last thing he saw was his mother shaking Philip between her teeth, waiting until she saw Marcel and Klaus. Whatever she said to his father, he didn't hear. She'd shut him out.

"_Werewolves,"_ Marcel spat. "_They always travel in packs. I want you to find out who they are."_

"Pleasure," Klaus said.

"And Klaus, should you betray me, I will have the pleasure of killing you myself."

"Of course, sire," he replies.

Oliver reaches his room and feels as though they've failed. He knows the only way to beat Marcel, rested on having a plan b.

**A/N: Please review.**


	2. Runaway

**Disclaimer: TVD/The Originals is not owned by me. A/N: Based on 4x20: Originals' Pilot. Enjoy x**

**2**

**Runaway**

Oliver paces up and down the tunnel, they weren't meant to be seen. He ignores Elijah, sitting in the darkness and bringing a bottle of scotch to his parched lips. The bottle's nearly empty. He hears his father's footsteps echo towards him and he's scared. Klaus drags Hayley into their lair. She's fighting against his grip trying to reason with him.

"What else was I meant to do? If Ollie hadn't been there, I would be dead. He's been waiting for this moment for years. You know this. He's destined to save us. _Let him_."

Klaus pulls her close to his face. Spit flies from his mouth and his wolfish eyes glow in the shadows.

"Do you realise what you have done? Your mistake has now put you under suspicion. If he finds out about our son my chance of becoming King will be lost, forever. Get out of my sight, and take him with you," Klaus says, in contempt. "I knew he wasn't ready."

Oliver feels a familiar sense of hatred for his father and he is very much on the edge of expressing himself but Hayley gives him a stern look and he swallows his retorts. He sees the bruises on her arms, but they heal up after a minute or two. She kisses his dirty blond hair and asks him to forget what he's seen, like the million other times.

"If I had just killed Philip, I would have turned, and then we could have taken on Marcel tonight."

"You saved my life, don't apologise for that. Someday you will get that chance, but it is not tonight."

"He hates us. He's always hated us. He can't see it's not just him in this fight."

"He's stubborn. Everything resides in his getting his life back, but yes, he forgets that we are a family, and we're in this together. Let him burn off his steam. We'll try again tomorrow."

They sit down on the couch still talking, and Oliver listens to his mother's stories of how she first came to New Orleans and how the witches needed her help. She leans against his shoulder and tells him how honoured she is to be his mother and how she believes in him. Somewhere between telling him this and how much she loves him, she falls asleep.

Oliver can hear Elijah and Klaus speaking. They're discussing the incident and how best to keep Marcel in the dark, but how they could present him with a werewolf, and put his suspicions to rest.

"You have plenty of enemies, Niklaus. Yet, you also have plenty of friends. If I were a werewolf I would offer you my life but I promised you I would stand with you til the end."

"I'm sorry about Sophie," Klaus says.

"I chose to be there," Elijah says. "The boy is not a child, Niklaus. Trust him, he may surprise you."

"I doubt that," Klaus says, and Oliver clenches his fist. Suddenly, he knows what he has to do. He needed to prove himself to his father. He needed to make him see.

"Don't be afraid mother, I will make him respect us," Oliver says, as he carefully lay her onto the couch and covered her with a blanket. Then, fingering the blades across his back he climbed through the window, knowing full well that the streets were still full of bloodthirsty vampires and intending on finishing what Sophie had started.

_Kid, I thought you wanted those knives? I'm sorry, but until you win this fight, I can't let you have them. Elijah, I thought you said your nephew was good at this? So far he's slipped over three times, fallen on his face and broken his nose. Pathetic. If I were Marcel, I would have killed you long ago._

Elijah looks up from his corner, reading a newspaper. The headlines show parades and parties and nothing of the witches that continued to be punished in the dead of the night. He looks over the paper to see his young nephew spitting the blood from his broken nose.

_This is a drill. You can't kill me._

Sophie smiles and blocks another move, easily. She sighs kicking him in the side, and watching him fall over for the fourth time. Elijah folds the newspaper in half and walks towards them.

_The boy is only eleven. Perhaps you expect too much of him?_

Sophie avoids his charge and yell, and twists to avoid his second punch to the head.

_I'm getting tired of the same old thing, over and over. I can predict your movements. Do something out of character. Be brave. Surprise me._

Elijah raises his finger to his lips. Oliver watches breathlessly as he comes up behind her. His hands are on her shoulders, lightly caressing them, and she rolls her eyes. Then, she twists and throws a punch, knowing his reflexes are just as quick.

_Practice is over. _She says, as her head meets Elijah's and they stare into each other's eyes, long enough for Oliver to feel like he should have left the room ages ago. _Touch those knives and I will kill you. Don't think getting your uncle to seduce me will work. He should know that by now._

Elijah caressed her chin, and placed his lips along her protesting lips. She gave in, after that. Oliver rolled his eyes, covering his ears to avoid the lovey-dovey sounds they were making. Strangely, he half hoped he would see his parents in moments like this, but most of the time they were fighting. On more than one occasion he would see his father storming out of their lair after a screaming match. On this occasion, he remembered it clearly, because they were both covered in blood, and they bumped into each other but didn't utter a word. There was an understanding though, like they were same. Like they both longed for adventure, and the blood was just a trophy to show what they were willing to do.

-:-

Oliver landed in the room with a soft thud. He had learned to control his heartbeat so that the vampires wouldn't be able to detect fear too easily. He thinks of Sophie and wonders what her last thoughts were as Marcel's followers surrounded her. He wonders whether she tried to take anyone down with her, and as his eyes sting with tears, he knows he needs to compose himself, so he thinks of Klaus and how he still doesn't think he's ready to take on Marcel. He was wrong.

"What are you doing here?" a girl in a white dress said. "Who are you?"

Oliver is mesmerised by her appearance. He raises his hands to show he was unarmed in that moment. His blades were still strapped to his back, but he didn't need them.

"My name's Oliver Mikaelson."

"Why are you here?" she asks, suspiciously.

"I'm looking for something. Please, don't be afraid."

"What are you looking for? Perhaps I can help?"

Oliver nods, walking around her and taking in her queen sized bed, with white sheets and minimal furniture. He wonders who she is, and why Marcel kept her locked up in her room.

"Davina?" another woman's voice is nearby. "Marcel has sent up some food." The wooden doors at the end of the room open, and Oliver dives beneath the bed, he prays the girl won't say anything.

"Shut that window. You know Marcel doesn't want you doing that."

"I need air," the girl called Davina states.

"I can't let you do that, Marcel's orders," the older woman says.

"_Can't._ That's all I'm ever told!"

The woman puts down the tray of food like an exasperated nanny. "Davina, please. Eat, you need to gather your strength and shut that window." Davina slams the window closed.

She turns back to the woman and Oliver can feel her anger reside in each word. He's suddenly afraid of her, the girl who looked so harmless. "The witches have been silent. There's no activity, and yet I'm stuck in this room until they step out of line. I'm suffocating here."

"You know what Marcel needs of you. I can't change this," the woman says.

The shutters bang wildly.

"Can't. Can't. CAN'T. I'M SO SICK OF THAT WORD!"

Davina's outburst rattles the bed Oliver's hiding beneath. They're plunged into darkness as the lights shatter and the woman screams as her body is thrown from the window and to her death. He crawls from his hiding spot, amazed and shaken. "What was that?" he says, slightly impressed.

"Marcel's going to kill me," she whispers, suddenly afraid.

He puts on a brave face, removing his knives as it's clear in two minutes they'd be surrounded by vampires. He can hear them running up the tower, shouting and swearing. Her terrified eyes are what makes him promise himself he can't let them kill her. He stands in front of her and Marcel's voice cuts through his courage, reducing him to that unprepared eleven year old boy with sweating hands.

"Werewolf, did you think you could outsmart me, the KING? Unfortunately for you Davina is unable to lie to her master. Tell me everything, my dear." He requests the girl's hand, and she walks towards him, muttering a whispered apology which means nothing. He counts the vampires in the room and notices Marcel's gleeful expression as Davina admits everything she's learned. "Thank you. Now, your punishment for not telling me sooner," he backhands her, and she falls in a heap at his feet, crying.

He steps over her helpless shadow and Oliver grips the knives tighter. He hears the vampires cackling with laughter and closing in around him. He tries to remember everything his mother, Sophie and Elijah told him, and he feels suddenly sick with fear.

"Oliver Mikaelson, your father has some nerve. I wonder why he never thought to introduce us? I suppose he thinks he can overthrow me? Well, let's play a little game, shall we? Let's see exactly what you mean to my dear friend, Niklaus." Marcel waves his hand, and his vampire henchmen attack without warning. "Leave him only when he is barely breathing, only when his bones are breaking, and we shall see tonight, just how much your father needs you."

"You'll be waiting all night then, because my father's never wanted me. My death will please him," Oliver says to the chanting crowd. "Come at me, and I'll kill you. I haven't been training all this time for nothing. You've been warned."

Marcel sits in the chair. "If you say you're that good, then I wouldn't miss it. Go ahead, try. My soldiers, my guards are excellent fighters. Superior. You are just a boy, but I will give you the chance your father did not. Kill all my men, and I will rethink your punishment."

Oliver nods. His eyes hover over Davina whose now sitting by Marcel's legs. One of his hands stroke her hair, and her blue eyes connect with his. He knows what he's fighting for now, and it gives him courage. He thinks of Sophie, and all the witches Marcel has killed and controlled. He thinks of his family, and he thinks of Klaus, and how he never believed in him. This was his only chance.

Oliver knew the only way to survive was to trust his instincts. To surprise his attackers. To do what they least expected. He ducks as the nearest vampire launches himself at him. He slices the next, pushing his injured body forwards and into the next three salivating monsters. Marcel claps, and then offers some advice, but he doesn't listen. He's focussed on the fight. He's focussed on their beating hearts and he twirls the knives around, bringing them close and then slicing off two vampire's heads in one move. There's no time to smile, there's no time to feel the success. Vampires are everywhere. Marcel's shouting gleeful messages, he's telling them exactly where he is. He can hear Davina's cries, and one of his knives is knocked from his hand.

He dives to the side as another vampire tries to tear off his shoulder. He kicks it in the face making it angrier than ever. He reaches for his knife, as three or five vampires beat him up with their fists. He feels like he's just seconds too late, and he cries out in pain as his own knife collides with his neck. He sees their vulgar expressions, his own blood the cause of vengeance and massacre. They want to be the first to kill him, Marcel's orders are lost, and he does not do anything.

He feels his muscles contracting and his vision becomes blurry. He smells blood everywhere. He yanks his blade from his throat with dwindling strength and he builds upon his weaknesses. He will not be defeated. He will win. Oliver twists beneath a bearded vampire, he punches him in the face three times, and then, just when the dazed thing tries to bite him, he does instead but he doesn't stop there, he rips the vampire's head clean off his shoulders and then something strange happened.

The vampires pulled away. Some even yelled for help. Some thought Marcel had betrayed them.

Oliver snarled. His neck wound was nonexistent and he felt one hundred times more powerful. He felt like this was what he'd been waiting for. He looked at them through a yellow sun-visor. He could see in the dark, and it felt great. He could smell so many things, and the one thing that made him even more excited was Marcel had left the chair, and he looked shaken.

"Kill it! KILL IT!" Marcel screamed.

Oliver became the wolf. He used its already formed instincts to hunt its prey. He used its senses and he was as good as, if not better than Marcel's soldiers. The destruction that followed would tell him one thing: that his father was wrong. He could be, and would be something to be proud of.

**A/N: extended to a three-shot. Please review.**


	3. Shadow Play

Disclaimer: TVD/The Originals is not owned by me. A/N: Enjoy x

**3**

**Shadow Play**

"Well, he didn't just poof into thin air!" Hayley said, explaining Oliver's disappearance to a furious Klaus who was very nearly about to throttle her. He reminded her that their son was in her care when he went missing and that the responsibility fell on her to retrieve him, except that he didn't believe she was capable.

"Stay here. I'll find him. If I don't kill him first," he said.

Hayley snorted, shoving him in the chest. They were both surprised when he staggered away from her. "You must be joking. I won't be bossed around and I certainly won't let you go alone, not because I care whether you die but because he's _my_ son and I'll protect him from you, god help me."

"You are foolish little wolf. What makes you think _our_ son is alive? Marcel's guards will have ripped him to shreds by now."

"Go to hell," Hayley said, attempting to leave the room but his impatience pulled her back.

"I will kill you myself if you step outside of this room," he threatened.

Hayley's fist collided with his jaw and she repeated, "Go to HELL!" She ran to the door but he would get there first. His hybrid eyes flashed, but she didn't care. "I'm not afraid of you, Klaus. I was never afraid of you. _I pitied you_," she spat.

Klaus sneered, edging closer but not touching her. She stood her ground, waiting for him to respond with the usual childish threats which always got on her nerves.

"I will break your arm," he growled. "You are foolish if you think-"

Hayley cut across him. "Don't think I don't hear you pining for Caroline who in the last twenty years has made no attempts to leave Mystic Falls. I wonder...could she actually have a family of her own with Tyler! She used you. She got what she wanted. So who's the bigger fool?"

Klaus was shaking with rage. There was no love between them, not even the night Oliver was conceived. There was only pity, regret and hate.

"I will tear out your heart and feed it to Marcel's guard-" Klaus yelled, obnoxiously.

"Do it. I'd like to see what Elijah would do to you then!" she said, far calmer than Klaus. "Perhaps _you _should stay behind _husband_. I'm sure Elijah will agree."

At the mention of his name, Elijah entered but she didn't wait to say hello. His entrance had distracted Klaus enough to move aside and she left them, intent on finding Oliver who she believed was still alive and who she would ground as soon as she saw him.

She couldn't think of him suffering in the square with Marcel's gleeful smile. She couldn't think of him dead. She believed, like Sophia, that he would be their saviour even if Klaus refused it.

-:-

Elijah lay his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Let her be, Niklaus. Perhaps you could think of something that may aid Hayley rather than restrict her? I am presuming despite her telling you to stay, you have no intention to abide by h-"

Klaus spluttered in outrage, as Elijah knew he would. "I make up my own rules!"

Elijah's thoughts settled on what Hayley had said about Caroline and how she had only used Klaus to grant Tyler's freedom. Klaus had said once 'love was a vampire's greatest weakness,'but whatever he felt for Caroline was not love, it was more of an obsession.

Klaus held onto a fantasy that he and Caroline coexisted in the same worlds, he was wrong. Elijah's features must have betrayed him because Klaus threw his fist against the wall, and yelled, as though to convince himself of the fact -

"I do _not_ care for them."

He assumed Klaus had lied and only uttered the words to place himself back into his own vindictive fantasy where he could exist without friends, family and loved ones. He did however, want all those things and he was desperate to get them.

"If you do not care then you are the monster Hayley despises. Put aside your pride and do the things Sophie asked of us or her death will have been in vain and our chance lost. You wanted this, Klaus. You wanted to be king. _Save your kin_."

"Do not pity me, Elijah."

Elijah continued. "I pity myself for falling in love with a witch who wished only to save her kind. I promised you once that I would support you, but sometimes you do not make it easy on us."

Klaus didn't answer, instead he rested his head against the sewer's wall. Someone else had entered the lair and Elijah smiled, knowing she had received his messages. Rebekah slammed a cell onto the cement and stomped on it. Klaus stared in surprise.

"Caroline gave me her phone. Apparently this guy she used to know keeps calling her. I may not be a vampire any longer but I'm not entirely useless and I hope you don't mind, but I brought my family along."

Elijah heard three beating hearts. Matt was human, a survivor and somehow embodied everything Rebekah ever wanted. The third was a teenager with blond hair in a pony-tail and curious blue eyes. She wore bangles and showy earrings like her mother, but there was something different about her. She was protective of both her parents and Elijah saw a dagger glint from the inside of her leather jacket. He was reminded of Sophie.

Klaus started forwards, his temper had not gone away, in fact, he was unravelling by the minute.

Elijah shook Matt's hand. "Thank you for coming." he said, shooting Klaus a look to encourage him to say something.

What he said was neither helpful nor polite.

"You should have stayed in Mystic Falls. New Orleans is no place for humans." Klaus stormed out of the room and slammed the door, making some of the moss from the ceiling fall down on their sister's head. She threw her arms in the air and started ranting.

"Please, take a seat as I explain," he said, leaving Klaus to cool down and hoping Hayley was ok.

Sophie had taught Oliver self-defence and challenged him beyond his years, he should, and Elijah emphasised the word 'should' be capable of protecting himself, but he could not help picture the little boy he'd help Hayley raise. It was only yesterday it seemed, when he was six and hanging from the rafters.

"Your uncle is under a lot of stress right now. We fear Oliver may have provoked Marcel. Hayley has gone to find him. And Klaus...I'm not sure what he'll do, but we'll accept all the help we can get."

Rebekah hugged Elijah. "Are there any hotels nearby? I'm not sure I like the idea of living in a sewer? What made you choose this place anyway?"

Elijah smiled, it was not his idea of luxury either. Sophie had held Hayley captive there after doing the spell to activate the werewolf gene. They had walked through the graveyard and down the steps into an arched doorway leading into a large mausoleum. It encased one grave, she had told them, and it belonged to an important citizen of New Orleans.

Elijah noticed the offerings: handkerchiefs and calico bags filled with marmot bones, ribbons, coins and roses left behind for good luck. Blood stains inked her engraved name, Marie Laveau. The Voodoo Queen had existed in person one hundred years prior when they had moved to New Orleans in the 1920s. Kol told them stories about her and of the raves that had co-existed between vampires and werewolves, before Marcel had risen from the streets and before Klaus had rooted himself in the French Quarter.

She was a powerful woman. She had little patience, even in death. She would reappear according to Sophie, on St John's eve with a handkerchief around her neck and inflict pain on anyone who got in her way. Elijah turned to Sophie who seemed reasonably calm. He raised his eyebrows and she explained...

_June's solstice, six months before Christmas. She would perform her ceremonies on the St John's bayou which if you haven't noticed is not far from here. Unfortunately, due to some problems with the sewage they filled in the bayou with cement. You can understand then, why Marie cannot rest?_

Elijah asked about the meeting place. Did her sister Jane-Anne perform the magic here because of the energy given to her by the voodoo queen? How did Marcel know they performed magic?

_He has a secret weapon. We need Klaus to find it. The heir will be our saviour. This is the only place where I feel safe. Jane-Anne and I grew up here. It was always comforting having Marie around. She protects us. Our enemies are wary and do not dare disturb what little peace she has left._

Elijah and his family had lived in a house with green shutters and intricate balconies a hundred years ago. They looked down on Bourbon street and were always up late after the parades had ended, listening to the jazz fade beneath the retching drunkards. Kol would disappear into the night and return next morning with stories that thrilled Rebekah. Elijah sat reading books at Maison Bourbon with his scotch. Rebekah and Niklaus always bickered until they both stormed in opposite directions screaming how much they hated each other.

_I already told you. This is the safest place in New Orleans. Marie has protective spells in her mausoleum. There are tunnels beneath our feet. It's the old sewer beneath the bayou. It may not be as classy as your last abode but I guarantee it's the safest place there is. Especially for a pregnant girl._

Elijah walked across the old drains and pointed to the symbols Sophie had left on the walls to protect them. He could almost feel her breathing in his ear and dabbing paint on his arm. He answered Rebekah's question with a grim smile, knowing she would not like his answer but if she were wise she would listen to him.

"All the hotels are run by vampires here and since we don't want anything to happen to you, you'd be safer here for the meantime."

Matt raised his hand, he needed to get something off his chest.

"You do realise Mystic Falls has prepared us for this moment. Nadia, you might want to show your uncle exactly what you can do. He seems to think just because we're human we can't protect ourselves." Elijah stuttered over his words. He was guided into a chair by his niece who pulled out two daggers. He watched surprised when she hit all her marks and he apologised to Matt. They all walked out of the lair on equal terms.

-:-

Hayley walked through the deserted French Quarter, it was early morning and the town was asleep. The street lamps casted a narrow path ahead of her. When she passed through the shadows she used her wolf-vision 'to see', listening out for Oliver's telepathy in case he was trying to reach her.

"Come on Ollie, where are you?" she said, twisting to see a rat running out of a garbage can. She heard a whimper a distance away and then a sharp whistle that felt as if a thousand knives had pierced her brain. She dropped to her knees and clamped her hands down over her screaming ears. "What is that? You said it was going to be better, Sophie? You said if you died we would be closer to freedom. You lied, didn't you?"

The darkness cradled her and she felt the wind carry her forwards. The sound had gone. She fingered the friendship bracelet Sophie had given her years ago and kept talking to comfort herself.

"You told me to come, remember? When you said Oliver would run away, you told me I had to find him." She sighed. There was a persistent wind that almost blew her over. Her heart thumped in her chest as she ventured on keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary and listening for Oliver's distinct howl. "I'm coming for you, baby."

She flinched when the wind sounded like a person whispering in her ear. "To the left." It instructed.

She furrowed her brow, seeing something or lots of somethings dart across the light and into shadows. She found herself in the middle of the square where Sophie had been put to death and other witches before her. The lamps flickered out and she kicked the cobblestones out of habit.

"What was that? Tell me." she hissed, hoping to hear the voice again.

"I don't take orders from wolves." It said with attitude after a small delay.

She decided on bribery. "Would you rather I ask my husband to get the answer from you?"

"By all means call my brother..." the voice drawled, then fell silent.

"Kol? Kol Mikaelson? You've got to be kidding me! I thought I'd be guided by a witch, not by _you_! Where's Sophie? Why didn't she come?" Hayley demanded.

He seemed offended. "Excuse me but I was invited here. I could have stayed on the other side but I decided to do the _right thing_ for once. Now if you please, I'm meant to tell you where to go, and judging by Sophie's impatience you might want to grab hold of her arm-"

Hayley looked around her. "She's here? Why can't she speak like you?"

"Unfortunately when she was killed the wolfsbane cut her vocal chords. I believe the process is too traumatic for her. I act as her interpreter. Now hold out your hand, wolf," Kol demanded.

"It's Hayley," she corrected, sifting through her knowledge about ghosts and finding that she had received no shivers, no nothing. "I don't believe you. Sophie, if you can hear me, please tell me what to do? Oliver could be dead by now and Klaus is very nearly about to go on a killing spree himself."

The lamps sparked electricity into the night air and Kol muttered 'oh oh' under his breath. What was coming apparently wasn't anything to do with Sophie. Hayley regretted not taking her hand straight away as the shadow people emerged, they were vampires.

Marcel was singing while dragging a chained prisoner. Oliver was hunched over with his hands tied to his feet. He looked exhausted and by his delirious state it looked as if something heavy had fallen on his head. Hayley did what any worried mother would do - she yelled at him.

_You shouldn't have left me. Klaus is furious._

_I don't care about Klaus. I care about getting justice. _

_Are you okay?_

_My wrist is broken. She betrayed me._

_What do you mean?_

_Davina, the witch. Marcel exploits her magic for his own use. I thought I could save her, ut they're like connected, somehow. I don't understand-_

_I won't let you die. _

Hayley gathered the whistling noise she heard before had been what had stopped Oliver. It would have disempowered him enough for Marcel or somebody to imprison him. She was calmer than she felt though she itched to change form and bite off his head, but they were surrounded five to one and besides she knew Elijah would disapprove of unnecessary violence. Marcel was singing a lament to her son.

"Mrs Mikaelson! Glad you could join us for your son's execution. Now would you do me the favour of alerting the town -" He danced about with the wolfsbane and wrapped it around Oliver's throat. Her son convulsed, flesh burning. His cries dug into her soul and her angered screams awoke the dead.

-:-

"My what a scream! I think we almost lost our heads... at least one of us will tonight." Marcel raised the wolfsbane to the clouds as his kin chanted, reinforcing his motives. They had formed a circle around them. She looked out into the darkness wondering whether Kol had abandoned her like Klaus.

"Mum?" Oliver moaned, the wolfsbane had left a bloody gash.

"I'm here, baby." she said, challenging Marcel to step closer so she could end this.

Oliver's terrified eyes affected her and she saw the vampires in the crowd cheering with joy and shouting out 'Marcel is our King'. She had to keep him talking. She could not think of losing her son. This was not the plan.

"Your Klaus betrayed me and he has not the guts to face me? Your son has the same abilities as you, my dear. He is courageous and proud of his wolf image, but you are forgetting one thing. I rule New Orleans now and I say, werewolves are extinct here."

A loud, rowdy cheer went up and Hayley searched their faces for somebody she knew. Elijah? Klaus? Where were they? She cracked her knuckles, threateningly, waiting for something to slip. Davina, the girl Oliver said betrayed him stared at her toes. Her face was streaked with tears and she trembled as though she were cold. Hayley saw she was only in a white nightdress.

She said whatever came to mind to distract him.

"Klaus is part werewolf. He will not see his kind perish." She kept throwing glances at Oliver to try and indicate that she was about to do something. He had fallen, his breathing slow and she needed to act quickly if she were to save them both. She remembered what Kol had said. She had to trust Sophie. She had to believe.

"If Klaus does show, I propose to take him down and use his blood to paint the next carnival float." He laughed.

Hayley moves both her hands, not knowing which side Sophie was standing. She feels her heart in her throat and an adrenaline rush kicks in. She gasps as both her hands are squeezed by imaginary people. She stands there, waiting for some kind of signal. Hooded figures are watching her and she recognises Elijah and Rebekah and Matt placing themselves near the inner circle. They had not left her to die, after all. She smiled in joy.

_Oliver. They're here. Elijah has brought Rebekah and Matt. I'm going after Marcel. _

She sees Elijah shoot an assertive look at his sister who held daggers in both hands. They are right behind the vampires. Someone yells as if to attract attention. It was Nadia, Rebekah's daughter. She races through the crowd, chopping off heads in one swift cut. So much for Elijah's moral values. It seemed this was war. The vampires are yelling and an array of wooden crossbow arrows kill the guards on either side of Oliver. Their bodies hit each other on the way down. She sees Nadia pull him to his feet and sends a message to Oliver to reassure him.

_Go with them. Find Elijah. I know what I have to do._

Rebekah, Matt and Elijah are clearing a path to her. Marcel's eyes flash at her. He runs, but he uses a terrified Davina as his shield, wading through the crossfire and disappearing on the other side. Hayley chases after him and the arrows and vampire attacks bounce off her.

_Klaus. I've got Marcel in my sights. I don't know where the hell you are, but if you care for Oliver, you better get your ass down here and do something, or are you a coward, after all?_

Her wolf sight targeted Marcel climbing up the steps of St Louis' Cathedral. She followed.

-:-

Klaus heard the commotion from his hiding spot on St Louis' Cathedral. He saw Hayley chasing after Marcel and heard her words clearly, biting back his annoyance at her 'coward' comment. He saw his niece protecting Oliver and Rebekah fighting as well as any man: he had underestimated her. He dropped from the rooftop and landed in front of Hayley, stopping her from entering, with a growl.

"Now, you show up! Do you realise what I've gone through? Your son almost died and it takes you this long to show your face! I hate you! Do you hear me? Now get out of my way so I can clean up your mess!" He caught her fist before it hit him. He needed to get the message across. This fight was between him and Marcel, not her. "I am not turning back. I've waited twenty years for this."

"Fine. Do not get in my way." Klaus said, pushing open the wooden doors and crossing the marble floors. Hayley walked around the pews and followed Klaus up the steps, passed the organ and

through the little door leading to the bell tower.

"You can't kill Marcel without killing Davina." Hayley told him.

"Her sacrifice will be worth it." Klaus heard Marcel calling his name.

"Sophie and Kol protected me tonight, for your information. It's more than you ever did over the last twenty years. It's no wonder Oliver snuck out tonight. He wanted to prove himself to you. He wanted to show you exactly what he was capable of, and you did what you always do. You only thought about yourself. You left him to Marcel, and you - are you even listening to me?"

Klaus had been preoccupied with his own thoughts. He had seen the damage Oliver had left behind him. The claw marks in the marble floor. The teeth marks in the pew. He felt a strange thing in his chest and he was ignoring Hayley's rant, trying to hear what Marcel wanted. He was telling Davina to do a spell, one she didn't want to do. They were fighting.

"SHUT UP!" He yelled at Hayley, his rage was frightening, but she was used to it by now.

"No. I won't. I cannot believe you think you can come here and take all the glory."

"Why shouldn't I? These last twenty years I have watched him subjugate my people."

"_Your people?_ You don't even care about your own family! Maybe if we're lucky, you'll both fall out of the window and die!"

"Go back before I throttle you," he yelled.

"Do it." Klaus slammed her against the stone wall. She reminded him of Oliver. "This is not your fight. _It's ours_. When will you get that! I want Marcel dead as much as you do."

Klaus found her as frustrating as the first day they'd met. He scrutinised her squinty eyes and full lips which hung open in an odd expression. She was not particularly pretty but she had an essence of selfhood and fight in her that had made him curious. Oliver may be his son, but he embodied more of his mother. He felt her steady breath against his face and felt her smooth skin against his hand. She held onto his wrist, daring him to kill her...

There was a scream which blew open the door at the top of the stairs and Klaus and Hayley run onto the roof. Klaus thought perhaps the girl had been pushed over the side, but instead he saw Marcel with that gleeful grin, slumped against one of the bells with blood on his hands, his own. Davina was hunched over herself, pushing an arrow into her chest. Her sacrifice surprised Klaus the most. He could not describe his emotions nor understand the manner of her death. Hayley however, went straight to her.

"You're too late, Niklaus. It seems I underestimated her. I gave her everything she ever wanted and yet...she turned on me, like you did. I only ever wanted power. You told me if I wanted it I had to persuade people of the good that would come of it. You taught me how to live and now you take it away. I suppose you are happy now? Your son -" he coughed up blood, "He fought like a hero against my men. I told him I would free him if he survived their attack. He almost did. I had Davina do a spell. He could not fight against invisible guards that bound him to the floor; a whimpering dog whose ears bled under her deadly whistle. My men were eager to have his head: their brothers in pieces. I danced at the sight of his tortured soul, knowing if I hurt him, I hurt you. I my mistake was to trust others. You never did, and that's why you are the better king, my sire."

Hayley watched as Marcel's head slumped onto his chest and his arms flopped against his sides. Davina was asking her to forgive her, over and over, like it would help her pain. She slumped in her arms, and wiped her bloody hands across her cheek leaving a last message for Oliver.

"Tell Oliver, I'm so glad he climbed through my window. He freed me from this tyrant. Bury me in St Louis cemetery beside Sophie Deveraux. I will spend my eternities asking for her forgiveness. I am so sorry, for everything."

Hayley squeezed her hand, whispering words of comfort and regretting ever wishing her to die. She had no idea how to tell Oliver what had happened and glared at Klaus who looked as though he showed no emotions whatsoever. She could not believe him, and almost wished she could remove the arrow and stab it into his neck. She told him, he owed Oliver the truth.

"Twenty years. All I ever wanted was to be king of New Orleans, to get back what Marcel stole."

Hayley collected Davina in her arms. She did not wish to hear Klaus victory speech. The poor girl was dead and Oliver had not had the chance to say goodbye. Davina's head dropped over her arm, and she made the effort to abide by her last wishes and bury her beside Sophie. She wondered if Sophie had heard her speech too.

"Give her to me," Klaus said, blocking her way.

"For god's sake, can't you just let me do this nice thing for her?"

"Give her to me, Hayley."

She sighed, letting Klaus take her. She kept telling him to be careful and to go slowly down the stairs so he didn't bump her head on the stone wall. They came outside just as the sun was coming out.

The others had not gone far. They waited at the bottom of the steps, relieved they were ok.

The vampires who had stayed, had either changed their allegiance or were too scared to move, knowing Marcel was dead. Hayley was caught in a hug by Rebekah and then, Elijah. She noticed Oliver's wrists and legs no longer bore the marks of the chains but he was still traumatised and even more so now the girl of his dreams lay dead in his father's arms.

"What did you do? Get away from her!" Oliver snarled, his eyes changing a colour. He was changing into the wolf. Hayley stopped him, standing between her son and her husband.

"Klaus did not harm Davina. She took her own life. Your father is only fulfilling her wishes. Marcel is dead, and as soon as this is done we shall leave."

Hayley saw Elijah's eyes flicker in her direction like something she said had attracted his attention. She walked with him, eager to tell him what had happened with Sophie. She held onto Elijah's arm, grateful he had been there for them all those years, and muttered an apology when she realised she would be taking Oliver away from him.

"You don't have to leave Louisiana, you know," Elijah said.

"I promised Oliver."

"New Orleans needs a Queen," he said.

She gave him a queer look, as if trying to understand his true meaning. She saw Matt and Rebekah arm in arm. Rebekah winked at her. Oliver now carried Davina, as though she were his Queen and Nadia and Klaus walked soberly behind them.

"I am not deserving of being Queen. Rebekah can have that title."

"You are the mother of the heir."

"Klaus and I drive each other mad. One day we will kill the other. I'd like to live the rest of my life somewhere, far away from him."

Elijah smiled, grimly. "I shall miss you both."

Klaus dug the grave for Davina. Elijah said a few words that Hayley thought she would have liked, and they left Oliver to say goodbye. Rebekah, Matt and Nadia went to Bourbon street, accompanied by Elijah to get a well deserved drink and a tour. Klaus slammed his door to his room. Hayley packed hers and Oliver's bags. She would be glad to finally leave the lair and remember the feel of carpet beneath her calloused feet.

It had been about an hour or so when she had packed up everything and wondered whether she should go via the pub to say goodbye to the others. She contemplated just taking Oliver and catching the bus back to Mystic Falls, or even New York, she always wanted to go there. She deserved to start anew and so did Oliver.

She lugged their duffel bags with her across the graveyard, having said thank you to Marie Laveux's grave for protecting them. She had never seen her ghost and never wished to. Oliver wasn't by Davina's grave anymore. The dirt was neatly packed on top, where fresh flowers now lay. She whispered goodbye to her and Sophie, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

She walked to the white picket fence surrounding the cemetery and saw a figure kneeling down with his head touching the gravestone. It was Klaus. He heard her walking across the leaves and must have known who it was by her perfume she had sprayed over her sweaty clothes. She hadn't even bothered to have a shower and probably still had blood on her.

"Go away," he said.

She couldn't read the inscription. There were flowers, a few days old, or so. Hayley saw the sun shimmer along the white stone. She hesitated. Never seeing Klaus like this.

"Go away-" he said, again. This time his voice broke.

"Oliver and I are leaving," she stated. "Goodbye Klaus."

She left him, walking out of the graveyard and headed to the bar for a last minute vodka that would wipe away all of her horrors, particularly any memory of Klaus.

-:-

Hayley and Oliver said their goodbyes to the Mikaelsons, as usual Klaus was nowhere to be seen, not that she really cared anymore. Elijah had negotiated ownership over his favourite bar and given Matt the manager position. Nadia and Rebekah were drinking tequila shots. Matt was having a beer and smiling at his new inheritance whilst Hayley, wrapped her arms around Oliver's shoulders and asked if he was okay.

His eyes settled on somebody waiting outside in the street, and his calm demeanour was ripped from his body. He growled and transformed into his black wolf. Hayley went to get him, but Elijah held her back with a warning. "It is between them now."

Klaus shifted, shaking his shaggy grey hair and she spoke to them both, sending furious thoughts their way, about how ridiculous they both were and she would kick their asses if they even dared to fight. They both ignored her. She threw off Elijah's arms and bit her lip, so it bled.

As they attacked each other, for what Hayley could only think was some kind of twisted fight to the death, she listened to their mixed thoughts trying to find a way to stop them. She was surprised to find Oliver seemed to be avenging her honour.

_You got everything you wanted, but you can't have her. Not now, not ever. I won't let you._

_It's not mine to take anymore._

Oliver thumped him on his furry head with his paw. Klaus was thrown across the street and hit the taverns on the other side. It was like he wasn't even trying. Oliver snarled, baring his teeth.

Klaus had wanted to be king, but he never wanted to be Oliver's father. He never wanted to be her husband. Sophie had forced them into that, so he told himself. He never wanted to visit Kol's grave because that would confirm he was dead, that Elena and Jeremy had murdered him and that Caroline had never loved him. He supposed what he'd suffered was the breaking of his human heart, a feeling he had not had for a thousand years.

_You have proved you deserve it more than I. You my son, are King, and you shall decide my fate._

Hayley stared at him, this was not what she expected. She forgot Oliver was old enough to make his own decisions but she was afraid of what he would choose. As she watched him circling his father, she felt suddenly afraid for Klaus. What was he doing? Why, now, would he decide to abdicate? This is what he had wished for since they arrived? Why would he change his mind?

_You could say Davina taught me the true meaning of sacrifice. Goodbye Oliver. Hayley..._

Hayley felt her heart thumping. She was more furious at his giving up, then anything else. Oliver turned to her, satisfied, but she was fighting her own instincts to run after him. She had already dropped the duffel bags at her feet. She hissed to herself that it was a very bad idea: but the thought of his leaving her so she could have a better life there, was something so unlike Klaus she had to confront him.

"What is she doing?" Oliver demanded.

Elijah took Oliver's shoulders and congratulated him on making the right decision. It seemed he was not surprised by what had taken place, and he promised to buy him a beer. The others followed his example and Hayley and Klaus were left alone in Bourbon street.

She stared into his wet eyes, and saw a stranger. What he'd promised to sacrifice was his life.

She stood there, trying to find the words that could express the way she was feeling, but she was distracted by the way blood bled from his torn earlobe. She wanted to say something about how he had underestimated their son, but he had already humiliated himself in front of them, she didn't want to rub it in.

Minutes passed and neither had said a word.

She swallowed, feeling as though she were back in high school wanting to ask her crush out to prom. He seemed to be struggling with the same thing. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, he had closed her off so she began with: "You're leaving us?"

"There's nothing here for me."

"You're family is here."

She couldn't quite explain it, but New Orleans without Klaus seemed like an empty city. He looked as though nothing she said would change his mind. Had she made another mistake?

His hand gripped the back of her neck. She felt his lips pull on hers, and the shock of him not killing her made her gasp. He pulled her close and their fights, their screaming matches, everything was forgotten, or at least, it was while Klaus's tongue caressed her throat. She barely even challenged him, not wishing to cut the kiss short, and continuing it, as though remembering the first time they had kissed.

She exhaled slowly. Her hands lost in his hair. She was not being gentle with him, why should she? He made her wait two decades for this? She pushed him out of the street and against the wall in an abandoned alley, attacking his mouth and letting go of her fears.

He kissed down her cheek and succeeded in finding her weakness below her collarbone. Was this part of Sophie's plan? Or was this a goodbye fuck?

"What does this mean?" she gasped, turning her head to breathe.

"Well, usually when a guy kisses a girl, it means he likes her. Ow!"

She had punched him. "Who are you and what did you do with Klaus?"

She clawed his shirtless back, invested in his long, slow kisses.

"Can I trust you?" He tugged her earlobe with his teeth. Her legs slipped down his thighs, and he adjusted her with a smirk. "I suppose, this is me getting over Caroline Forbes," he said.

At the mention of her name, Hayley bit down harder than she intended on his neck, sprouting blood. "You are _twisted_," she said bitterly.

Klaus touched his wound with raised eyebrows. "Says the girl who just bit me." He growled into her neck. Her head hit a particularly mossy part of the wall and she replied. "So this is just sex? No strings attached?"

"This love, is sex with my wife who I have neglected for twenty years. I am sorry that I ever took out my anger on you, I am sorry that I never loved my son the way I should have. My attention is on you and it will never leave you, not for the next twenty years, not ever."

Hayley heard Oliver's protests as she realised she had forgotten to block him from her thoughts (which were getting increasingly dirtier). She murmured 'sorry', opening her eyes only to gaze at him stupidly after he'd just admitted to loving her. There was a parade of ghosts walking by them. They became dust when they touched the shimmering sunlight. She smiled. The dead had found peace and there was a new King in New Orleans.

**A/N: I loved this little family, hope you did too. Please review.**


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